The popularity of multiplayer online games on the Internet has exploded in recent years. Unlike conventional single player electronic games, multiplayer online games enable a player to participate in games with other players, either as an individual or as a team member. The multiplayer aspect of these games adds to the players' gaming experience by offering new gaming considerations, including strategy, teamwork, and rivalries.
In order to enable playing of a multiplayer online game, host services must be provided by either an individual or a third-party host. Host services are typically executed on a host computer or server that determines who the game participants are, and whether new players may be added to each game session.
Examples of multiplayer online games that are hosted by third-party providers can be found at many gaming web sites, including Microsoft Corporation's Internet Game Zone, which provides a myriad of single player and multiplayer online games that are played by over a half-million users daily. In order to play most of the games on such a gaming site, it is necessary for users to download (or separately procure) a copy of the game the user wishes to play. Some of these games may typically be downloaded for free, while others must be purchased, either online, or at a retail outlet. In addition, many gaming sites offer “premium” games that can only be accessed if the user has paid a membership fee to play the games, or has agreed to pay a usage fee (e.g., an hourly, daily, or monthly fee).
In contrast to Internet gaming web sites that are broadly accessible over the Internet using a conventional browser, a more secure and limited access gaming environment is provided by a gaming service such as Microsoft Corporation's XBOX LIVE™, which is dedicated specifically to enabling players to connect in communication with other XBOX™ game consoles over a broadband Internet connection, so that users of the XBOX game console can participate in multiplayer game within the XBOX gaming environment. Only those who have paid an annual fee and have registered their game console with the XBOX LIVE gaming service when signing up for the online gaming service are able to participate in such games. Although the connection between the participants' XBOX game consoles and the gaming service is over the Internet, this communication uses virtual private network (VPN) tunnels to ensure security and employs the user datagram protocol (UDP) instead of the more common transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP) for the communication of data packets.
In order to facilitate online game playing, it is necessary to enable players to join games already in progress, or enable players to initiate a new game in a manner that allows other players to join in. Oftentimes, players prefer to play games against (or with) players they already know. In general, many of the third-party gaming sites provide host services that make it relatively easy to join games, schedule future games, establish teams, etc. However, there is presently no way to easily initiate game play between players for games that are hosted by individual players.
In order to host a game, the host needs to be able to identify and communicate with all of the game participants. A common scheme for performing this task involves the use of Internet Protocol (IP) addressing. In order to communicate over a communications network, such as the Internet, each device (e.g., a player's computer) connected to the network must be assigned to a unique network address. Under the Internet's present TCP/IP scheme (which is also used on other types of networks), each device connected to the Internet is identified by a 32-bit IP address comprising four 8-bit segments separated by dots, e.g., 207.21.32.212. Each IP address comprises a unique network ID, and a unique host ID, the latter of which identifies a workstation, server, router, or other TCP/IP device on the network. Accordingly, each of the individual computers used by the game players is assigned to its own IP address. As a result, a game host can enable new players to join a game by telling the other players the IP address of the host's machine.
The problem of inviting friends to join a game has been even greater in a dedicated, secure gaming environment such as XBOX LIVE™, where access to the gaming environment is only permitted through a specific gaming console. A player who wants to invite friends to join in playing a multiplayer game in the XBOX LIVE gaming environment has not been able to directly communicate over the Internet from within the gaming environment with friends who are not also thus connected, since the dedicated XBOX™ game consoles have only been able to directly communicate with the gaming service and with other players who are connected to the gaming environment. There is no provision from within the gaming environment for a user of an XBOX™ console to directly connect over the Internet to any other entity who is outside the gaming environment. Currently, participants who are coupled with the XBOX LIVE™ gaming service can request friends who are also connected to the gaming service to join in playing a multiplayer game, but the process does not permit friends who are not connected to the gaming service to receive any notification of an invitation to join in a game.
In addition to receiving a notification that a friend has issued an invitation to join in playing a game on a gaming service, a user of the gaming service might simply want to be alerted when a friend has connected to the gaming service. Other events occurring in the gaming service might also be of interest to a person who has subscribed to the gaming service. For example, the person might want to be advised when changes have been made to a game, such as issuance of a new version, or when new levels or new functionality has been provided. Billing information may also be of interest to a subscriber to the gaming service. To provide maximum benefit, any alert or message notifying a subscriber to the gaming service that any of these events has occurred within the gaming service must be transmitted outside the gaming environment so that it can be received by the person when not connected within the gaming environment. The person may want to be notified by an email message or by a message that is received on a mobile communication device, such as a cell phone. Provision of an alerts system that can respond to events occurring within the relatively limited access gaming environment by transmitting messages outside the secure gaming environment in various formats can provide a valuable information resource to those who want to be apprised of such events as quickly as possible.